Bach, J S: The Art of Fugue, BWV1080, etc.

Phantasm

Seeing that we enjoy Bach and Mozart on a modern piano, should we demur at their music being played on an equally anachronistic consort of viols? Leaving aside the argument advanced in Laurence... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…

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Reviews

2010

Seeing that we enjoy Bach and Mozart on a modern piano, should we demur at their music being played on an equally anachronistic consort of viols? Leaving aside the argument advanced in Laurence Dreyfus's note that much viol consort music was fugal in texture anyway, the fact is that the contrapuntal lines here emerge with great clarity and with a subtlety of timbre, articulation and dynamics beyond even the ablest keyboard player, thanks to Phantasm's accomplished and expressive performances.
The group offers the first 11 Contrapuncti, without the canons or mirror fugues, but plus the final uncompleted chef d'oeuvre that was to have crowned the project; Phantasm's playing offers new insights into Bach's prodigious mind. In his transcriptions for string quartet of fugues from the '48', Mozart – who, it's reported, constantly had Bach's volume lying open on his piano – made a few small adjustments to details of rhythm and part-writing; and the process also fired him to write several fugues of his own, including the one in G minor (for piano solo or duet) here. Phantasm, despite a slight tendency to hurry, brings a smile to the lips by its intonation, precision and, above all, musicality.